The Holy Cross men's lacrosse team returns 26
letterwinners, with eight of 10 starters and nine of its top 10
point producers. Holy Cross (3-12 overall, 0-6 Patriot League in
2009) also returns the majority of its defense and welcomes nine
talented freshmen. With a group of upperclassmen that have a wealth
of game experience, a talented group of underclassmen and the
opening of a brand new field, there is a lot to be excited about
for the 2010 Holy Cross men's lacrosse season.

The Crusaders return eight starters from last
season but also welcome the return of senior captain Edison
Parzanese (Edgartown, Mass.) who missed all but three
games last season due to injury. Parzanese, who has been one of the
strongest and most dynamic offensive players at Holy Cross in
recent years, will look to have a big senior season.

Adding to the anticipation of the start of the
2010 season is the opening of Holy Cross Field. The new field is a
synthetic turf facility which is the home of both Crusader lacrosse
teams. The all-weather, state-of-the-art field - complete with
lights, a lacrosse specific scoreboard, a press box and bleachers -
is a field that everyone in the program is very excited about.
"Everyone is really looking forward to playing regular season games
on the new field," said sixth-year head coach Adam Pascal. "We had
a great fall season on the field. The new surface, the lights and
the sound system are all great. It is one of the best venues in the
league and it has a great area for the fans. It was awesome to see
the commitment from the college and the alums to give us this
facility which really adds to what we have to offer to future
student athletes."

Pascal loves the atmosphere that new field has
created around his program. "With some teams playing in football
stadiums, we have a more small college type home field where fans
can see the game up close and give us a nice home advantage," said
Pascal. "I think the view of Worcester is the best from the field.
Also the surface is a lot better to play on then the traditional
astro turf. The field is good for recruiting in that it is very
attractive to prospective student-athletes."

The senior class of Tim Barrar (West
Chester, Pa.), Kevin Connolly (Concord,
Mass.), Kenny Minor (South Hadley,
Mass.), Mike Nagle (Timonium, Md.),
Parzanese, John Rapport (Wyckoff, N.J.),
Chris Smirti (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) and
Connor Sweeney (South Salem, N.Y.) will be a key
factor in the success of the team. "Our eight seniors are very
important to our team," said Pascal. "Five years ago they all came
from successful high school programs. I told them they would get a
chance to get this program going in the right direction and they
have done exactly that. Having these guys around also really helps
the younger guys step up."

The Holy Cross offense is expected to be strong
this season with its top five goal scorers coming back from last
season. "We return a lot of ‘fire power' but we also have a
lot of competition for offensive positions," said Pascal. "For the
first time here we are having strong competitions in practice."

A big strength of the team will be its defense
as Holy Cross returns the majority of its defensive unit. "Last
year at Bryant for the last game of the season for both teams, Zack
Greer was four points away from the setting the all-time NCAA
scoring record and the defense led by Barrar held him to one goal
and two assists for three points, so he didn't set the record on
us," said Pascal "I know the defense was happy about that. We are
going to have to lean on those guys on the defense this year as we
expect a lot from them."

Pascal is very happy with the attitude of the
team which led to a productive fall season. "The team has taken on
the personality of our seniors which has brought a great work ethic
to the players," said Pascal. "What I took from the fall season is
that we have a lot of talent and there will be a lot of competition
for playing time. We won our scrimmages and the players got
confidence and everyone was in great shape."

As always Pascal uses practice to determine who
will see playing time in games. He sees the depth of the team and
the competitions in practice as two other strengths. "When you can
only play a certain amount of people on the field at the same time
during a game you make the decision to who is going to play based
on performances in practice," said Pascal "When you bring in great
freshmen that immediately generates competition. We have a lot of
athletic players we just need to put them in roles that they can
succeed in."

The Crusaders will look to captains Barrar,
Minor and Parzanese for strong leadership. "All three players are
different," said Pascal. "Parzanese is a very focused leader,
Barrar leads by example and Minor has a good combination of
leadership. It is great that they are three different types of
leaders. They were voted captains by their teammates so we expect
to take their confidence and spread it out through the team."

The nine juniors of Douglas Broussard
(Floral Park, N.Y.), Brandon DeLisio (Woodstock,
N.Y.), Colin Flood (Bay Shore, N.Y.),
Conor McKenna (Summit, N.J.), Matt Moran
(West Henrietta, N.Y.), Matt Petri (Morristown,
N.J.), Anthony Quinn (Port Washington,
N.Y.), Justin Rowley (Liverpool, N.Y.)
and Eamon Troy (Summit, N.J.) will be looking to
become leaders. "Our junior class is very good," said Pascal. "They
give us a lot of depth and there are a lot of players who have seen
a ton of game action. We expect this class to have a big season."

Pascal is very excited about the freshman class
of Jack Curran (Verona, N.J.), Ian Garrahy
(East Greenwich, R.I.), Myles Gillespie (Rye,
N.Y.), John Hannan (Manhasset, N.Y.),
James Kennedy (Summit, N.J.), Tim Pond
(Port Washington, N.Y.), Daniel Schmader (Radnor,
Pa.), Kip Stillman (Guilderland, N.Y.)
and Matt Ward (Massapequa, N.Y.). "These nine
freshmen know that if they have good practices they will see the
field during games and I expect to get contributions from them this
season," said Pascal.

With the addition of some new playing
formations, Pascal has been stressing in practice the need for the
team to be more vocal. "We need to have better communication on the
field," said Pascal. "Especially when we are putting in new
defensive and offensive formations the players need to know where
their teammates are. At the start of the season we really need more
talking on the field."

Attack

The Crusaders return a strong group at attack
led by Parzanese. He has the most points with 94 and assists with
55 of any current Crusader. As a freshman and sophomore he led the
team in both points and assists, and despite only playing three
games as a junior he ranked fifth on the team with 13 points and
eight goals, while he was fourth in assists with five. "Edison has
an awesome work ethic and we expect him to have a big senior
season," said Pascal.

McGeehin is coming off an outstanding freshman
season in which he led the team in points with 28 and in goals with
21, while he ranked second on the team in assists with seven. He
was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week twice, earned New
England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Co-Player of the Week
honors and won the team's Joseph M. Murphy III Rookie of the Year
award. "Colin is a very good shooter," said Pascal. "An emphasis
this season will be to generate shots for him. We want to get him
the ball a lot."

Smirti, who has the most goals of any current
Crusader with 47, ranked second on the team with 18 goals and 21
points last season. "Chris has the ability to find a way to score a
lot of goals," said Pascal. "He is very important to our success on
offense." Flood is another key player at attack as he ranked fourth
on the team with eight goals and was fifth with four assists last
season. "Colin is one of the toughest players I have ever coached,"
said Pascal. "His toughness leads to goals."

DeCicco will be looking to contribute to the
offense. "Ricky had a great fall season," said Pascal. "If he gets
knocked down he gets right up." Kennedy is expected to contribute
right away and was very impressive at the fall scrimmages. "During
the fall he played on man-up situations," said Pascal. "We expect
him to compete right away and contribute as a freshman."

Midfield

The Crusaders return a lot of depth in the
offensive midfield led by Minor and McKenna. Minor, who was named
the team's 2009 Offensive Player of the Year, had a career-best 15
goals and a career-best six assists for a career-best 21 points
last season. He was tied for second on the team in points, while he
was third in goals and assists. "Minor has been a big player for us
for four years here," said Pascal. "He started off as a defensive
midfielder but has become one of our top offensive players."

McKenna, who led the team with a
career-best 11 assists and was fourth with a career-best 14 points
last season, is expected to continue to be a strong set up man.
"Conor has matured as a lacrosse player and is a go to guy for us,"
said Pascal. "He is also a key player for us in man-down
situations."

Moran, who has 10 goals and seven assists for 17
career points, has moved from attack to midfield. "In the midfield
he can control the tempo of the game," said Pascal. "We think he
can really help us in this new position."

Nagle, who has spent time between attack and
midfield, has really impressed Pascal since he arrived on campus
four years ago. "Mike has probably made the biggest improvements of
any one on the team during his four seasons here," said Pascal. "He
has spent a lot of time in the weight room. He is a great leader
and a great kid. We are looking for a big season from him."

Rabiecki and Morici are coming off solid
freshman seasons and will look to continue to contribute on the
field. "Both these players had great freshman years," said Pascal.
"Nick is very athletic and we expect him to get even better. Andrew
really came on at the end of the season. He has a great ability to
dodge and has very good hands."

Rowley is expected to contribute in the
offensive midfield this season. "Justin had a great fall season,"
said Pascal. "He is a tough player and a good finisher." Pascal has
also been impressed with Hines. "Tom is playing the best lacrosse
since he got here," said Pascal. Gillespie, Hannan and Pond will be
looking to have strong freshman seasons. "Myles has great goal
scoring ability," said Pascal. "He is a good dodger and he can
really drive to the goal. John is a really confident and athletic
player. When I was recruiting Tim I noticed his uniform was always
dirty and he was always around the net meaning he was working
really hard. He will also take faceoffs for us this season."

In the defensive midfield, Petri and Troy are
expected to be major contributors. "We are expecting Matt and Eamon
to be big for us and lead the defensive midfield," said Pascal.
Ferraro has been moved from offense to defense. "Brent is really
fast, athletic and quick," said Pascal. Freshmen Stillman and
Curran will look to have solid rookie seasons. "Kip has great stick
skills and Jack who we also moved him from offense to defense is a
very physical player," said Pascal.

Defense

Defense will be a major strength for the
Crusaders led by Barrar, who has played 40 career games with 29
starts. "Tim is our shut down guy and he is a great leader," said
Pascal. "We put him on the opponent's best offensive player."

Along with Barrar, Rapport is
expected to have a strong senior season. He has played 42 career
games with 31 starts. "John has great hands and has great
anticipation as he is very good in getting the ball to our
offensive side of the field," said Pascal. Connolly is a senior
leader. "Kevin is a great kid to have on the team," said Pascal.
"He comes out every day and gives it his all which is great for the
underclassmen to see."

Broussard has started in every single game
during his career and is a key to the success of the defense.
"Douglas leads by example and fires up the team," said Pascal.
Quinn and Henry are also major factors on defense. "Anthony keeps
getting better and is important to our defense," said Pascal.
"David is one of the most physical players on the team." Doyle,
Peterson, who was named the team's 2009 Most Improved Player, and
Schmader will also contribute to the defense. "Nick is a great
teammate and is great in the weight room," said Pascal. "Greg
intercepts a lot of passes and will play man-down for us. Daniel is
a big physical player that will help us."

Specialists

Ward, who Pascal describes as "very fast," is
expected to be strong as a long stick midfielder this season.
Guarente, who was the team's main faceoff man last season as a
freshman, is expected to be a major factor on faceoffs. "A.J. got
better as last season went on and we expect him to win a lot of
faceoffs this season," said Pascal. "He is also in charge of our
Big Brother program so that shows what type of character he has."
Pond will also take faceoffs this season as well.

Goal

Sweeney, who will represent Ireland in the 2010
Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship
in Manchester, England in July, will be the starting goalie for the
Crusaders this season. "Connor has been waiting three years behind
three-year starter Jimmy Harrison," said Pascal. "He is really
excited for the opportunity to be the starter this season. He wins
player of the week in practice a lot. He is also a good leader."
DeLisio and Garrahy will also look to contribute in goal.

Schedule

The Crusaders will once again play
a tough schedule. "We play a lot of Ivy League teams and also being
in the Patriot League our schedule is always very challenging,"
said Pascal. Holy Cross will start the season with three straight
road games with St. John's (Feb. 20), Yale (Feb. 27) and Marist
(March 2). The Crusaders' first home game will be versus Harvard
(March 6), while they will then play at Dartmouth (March 9). After
the Patriot League season opener at home versus Colgate (March 13),
Holy Cross will meet Hartford (March 17), defending Patriot League
Tournament champion Navy (March 20) and Lehigh (March 27) all on
the road.

The Crusaders will then play five
consecutive home games as they will take on Bucknell (April 3),
Vermont (April 6), Lafayette (April 10), Quinnipiac (April 17) and
Bryant (April 20). Holy Cross will conclude the regular season at
Army (April 24).

The Patriot League Tournament will
take place on April 30 and May 2, on the campus of the regular
season champion. The top four teams in the final regular season
standings will qualify for the tournament.

College of the Holy CrossDepartment of Athletics 1 College Street Worcester, MA 01610